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Montreal’s iconic indie pop-rock band The Unicorns finally gave their fans the blast from the past they’d been waiting for at their POP Montreal show. Closing out this year’s festival at Métropolis on Sunday night, you’d never know from the way they played that the trio only recently reunited, let alone spent the past ten years estranged. Alden Penner (also of Clues) and Nick Thorburn (also of Islands) fed off each other easily, conjuring the manic, bizarre energy that was captured in their album so many years ago and doing so with a sense of humour.

Starting things off with a healthy dose of self-awareness, the show opened with a video compilation of strange interview clips about The Unicorns’ return, which became more and more indiscernible as the clips went on. The band played a few measly beats before Thorburn announced the show was over ─ and that’s when their performance really began. Diving right into material from their acclaimed album, Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone?, the trio were as charming as ever, delivering every song with an excitement that easily excused any hiccups in their set. The crowd, which was incredibly packed considering the size of the venue, was over the moon ─ we’re pretty sure we saw a few tears during their encore performance of “I Was Born A Unicorn”. From their recent followers to those who’d been waiting for the band to reunite since their teen years, it’s safe to say that The Unicorns left no one disappointed.

In case you missed their one and only reunion show slated for Canada, here are ten photos of The Unicorns that are sure to trigger some nostalgia.

All images courtesy of POP Montreal. Feature image by Susan Moss (and yes, that is a unicorn hand puppet).